When Invitees Ignore RSVPs

How can we bring back the art of the RSVP? After half the people I invited to a party failed to reply, I called them, but I felt awkward. Some of my friends even claimed not to know what RSVP stands for. Was I right to call?

The failure of people to respond to RSVP is one of the most frequent complaints I hear. The obligation implied by an RSVP is specific: Please reply — whether you're accepting the invitation or declining. Picking up the phone was the correct thing to do. How else could you get a head count? (Though I trust when you called you didn't sound too annoyed.) You can politely say: "We hadn't heard from you, and I'm putting together a final count for the party. We hope you will be joining us."

You're certainly not alone in your yearning for the return of the RSVP, which is an abbreviation of the French expression respondez s'il vous plait (please reply). Whether it's not knowing what the letters stand for or simply forgetting, too many guests fail to let their host know if they plan to come, and that's just wrong.